Matson Integrated Logistics: Coordinating constant movement

Source: Supply Chain Digital

Date :7/21/2008 11:47:38 AM

Matson Integrated Logistics’ highway services division arranges the efficient and economical movement of goods along the nation’s roads. VP Mark Christos tells Exec how they do it.

Written by Terrence Doyle and Produced by Michael Magno

Mark Christos, the 45 year-old vice president of Matson Integrated Logistics’ highway division, has a degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Christos has been working in the industry, in one facet or another, since he was an undergraduate. “I began working while I was still in college,” says Christos. “When I graduated I just decided to stay.” He is on the board of directors for the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA).According to its website, TIA is “the professional organization of the US$162billion third-party logistics industry. TIA is the only organization exclusively representing transportation intermediaries of all disciplines doing business in domestic and international commerce.”

TIA defines the role of transportation intermediaries or third party logistics companies as facilitators arranging the efficient and economical movement of goods. “They serve tens of thousands of shippers and carriers, bringing together the transportation needs of the cargo interests with the corresponding capacity and special equipment offered by rail, motor, air, and ocean carriers. Transportation intermediaries play a key role in cross border transportation by land, sea, and air,” the website adds.

Christos leads the highway services group at Matson Integrated Logistics. The company also provides services in air, and intermodal rail. Its new unit, Matson Global Distribution, provides ocean and warehousing services for customers with international supply chains as well. Highway services is rooted in the moving of freight by truck. Matson Integrated Logistics is a 3PL company charged with the duty of efficiently managing the transportation and movement of goods.

“The transportation logistics industry is about managing and coordinating the movement of freight and the customer’s product from point A to point B, whether it’s by truck or rail or ocean or air cargo or warehousing,” says Christos. “We at Matson manage and participate as a third party logistics company in all of those modes.”

Satisfying the customer

Christos said that MIL’s scope is far-reaching and that the company strives to meet any and all customer needs. “We want to meet any needs they have: time, service, costs,” he says. “Depending on the need, we will work hard to meet it.”

Christos describes the logistics end as the “management of a process, such as information, the purchasing of orders, supply chain efficiency,” while the transportation end is “the actual physical activity.”

“Highway services is responsible for the movement of goods when they are being moved via truck, whether it is a full truckload or less than truckload, known as LTL.”

When a customer approaches Matson Integrated Logistics with a product they need to have shipped, the process is simple. MIL makes the appropriate arrangements with the motor, rail or oceancarrier that will then transport the product. Matson handles the arrangement and everything in between. Should warehousing services be required, MIL performs a similar process with the network of warehousing companies. “We find the right mode of transport to meet the customers’ shipping demands,” says Christos. “We make the arrangements with the customer to manage the administration for the shipper with the carrier.

“We can make arrangements for one pallet to full truckload, to specialized large machines that require cranes to unload the product. We can manage the smallest shipments or the largest shipments,” says Christos. “Whether small or large, refrigerated, dry van or flatbed each shipment requires similar coordination. LTL shipments are smaller, but they are in the same conversation. It’s the same process, just on a smaller scale.”

Meeting the customers’ needs is what Matson Global Distribution Services, MIL’s warehousing group, focuses on. As a result, MGDS was recently awarded a 700,000 square foot warehouse contract for a leading customer in the southeast of the US. MIL and MGDS teams needed to react quickly to handle the customer’s import goods from China.

And who makes up Matson’s market? “Anyone who ships products or supplies,” says Christos. “We will ship for someone who only has one order a month or for major brand name customers that have complex logistics requirements. We have the ability to service large to small shippers and meet their logistics needs.”

Employees and revenue

Matson Integrated Logistics has eight company offices and more than 150 sales and agent offices with whom they work on a regular basis. Matson employs approximately 400 people, including 150 agents.“The agents are not Matson employees, but they generate revenue for us,” says Christos. “So we have over 300 people working and generating revenue for us.” Matson Integrated Logistics, established in 1987, has a yearly revenue of approximately US$450million.

Making adjustments

Though Matson Integrated Logistics is a thriving company, they are unavoidably at the mercy of the oil industry. In a climate where prices are skyrocketing, fuel costs are at the forefront of MIL’s concern. “Fuel is one of the top concerns industry wide,” adds Christos.

If you think finding a sub-four dollar gallon for your car is a tough task, try fueling entire fleets of trucks, trains, boats and planes. “The cost of transportation has accelerated rapidly this year,” says Christos. “It is that way for all modes. It is a major topic of concern for our customers and for our carriers.”

“The economic climate has hurt, especially in our industry,” he says. “It has decreased the level of capacity, which means equipment and trucks. Certain carriers have been forced to shrink their fleets and hire less drivers. Carrier bankruptcies have rapidly accelerated. There is less freight being shipped.

“We have seen a lot of our customers impacted by the marketplace,” says Christos. Some have had to shut down plants, others have had to reduce their manufacturing schedules. Instead of manufacturing seven days a week, they might be cutting down to five days a week instead. “The soft market is very real,” says Christos. “It is very real and it is very noticeable.”